Dale Earnhardt won both races at Talladega that year. Dale Senior, that is. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” was No. 1 – and 2 and 3 – in the television ratings. And the Hoover Bucs were not in the Alabama Sports Writers Association football Top 10.

In 1999, former coach Rush Propst’s first season, Hoover finished 7-3 – out of the Top 10 and out of the state playoffs – with the third loss of the season coming in the ninth game on the schedule. In 2000, the Bucs started a 266-week streak of appearing in the poll.

That run ended this week after coach Wade Waldrop’s squad dropped to 1-3 on the year with a 26-7 loss at rival Vestavia Hills on Friday. It’s unfamiliar territory for the program. The Bucs have lost three or more games only six times since the 1999 season and one of those years Hoover’s 6-6 record came due to four forfeits. In the “modern era” of Hoover football that has 11 state championships since ‘99, the Bucs had never lost three games in the first four weeks of a season.

“We’re not playing well,” said Waldrop, whose first Hoover team went 11-2 and won the Class 7A, Region 3 crown at 7-0 last year. “We’ve been consistently inconsistent. That describes where we are right now in every phase. We’ll do some good things, then do some bad things. A lack of experience is to blame and us figuring out the puzzle pieces as a staff is another reason.”

The 2022 team had 16 players sign college scholarships and 17 senior starters. Hoover now has three sophomores starting, including last year’s starter at quarterback Noah Schubach, and about a dozen are seeing significant playing time.

“I think we’ve played four good teams,” Waldrop said of the Bucs schedule of Auburn (a 39-14 loss), Oak Grove, Miss., (a 28-21 overtime loss) Spain Park (a 28-20 win) and Vestavia Hills. “I think we’ve played three very good teams. Oak Grove is probably the most talented team we will play this year. We should have probably won that game, but we came up short.

“The most disappointing loss was Vestavia. We had a good plan, but we didn’t execute. Vestavia played very well. They got after us and executed their game plan. No excuses there. They whipped us. I think our defense fed off our lack of production on offense. That’s been a point of emphasis this week.”

This week, the Bucs host another Region 3 rival when No. 6 Hewitt-Trussville comes to the Hoover Met for a 7 p.m. game on Friday.

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“We’ve had a good week,” Waldrop said. “Our guys understand where we’re at and what we’ve got to do. They also understand we’ve got a good opponent Friday night. Nobody feels sorry for us. We’ve been working hard.”

Hewitt head coach Josh Floyd said his 3-1 Huskies, who lost the season opener 48-24 to No. 2 Central-Phenix City, know what’s ahead. “First of all, they’ve played a really tough schedule. They’ve played some of the best teams in the state and even out of state. They’ve had to compete every week.

“Our guys know they have played tough and can’t be fooled just because they have lost a few. Hoover is Hoover.”

Hoover holds a 22-4 lead against Hewitt, has won six straight in the series and has several college prospects on the roster. Schubach has attracted interest from Ole Miss, Purdue, Troy, Virginia Tech and Marshall thus far. Jeremy Cook, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound three-star safety, has committed to Arkansas. Four-star linebacker Bradley Shaw has offers from every Southeastern Conference team except LSU, according to 247sports. Defensive lineman Micah Hampton has offers from UAB, Troy and Jacksonville State. And there are others.

Waldrop said his 25 seniors have shown some strong leadership, singling out running back Chalmers Peters and offensive lineman Toby Richard and defenders Hampton, Shaw and [5-11, 240-pound lineman] Michael Nixon.

The Hoover coach also had high praise for the Huskies. “Man, I think they are really good on offense,” he said. “Everything goes through their quarterback [Peyton Floyd]. He’s the coach’s son who plays that position the way a coach’s son is expected to play. They have a good offensive line, good running backs and their defense is good. They know their assignments and are playing well.”

Floyd, the coach, said Floyd, the quarterback, is on top of his game. “Peyton has played pretty well,” he said. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence, being a senior. It’s a lot of fun to coach Peyton. He has looked forward to this moment for a long time, to be a senior and have a chance to compete for a championship. It’s been fun to see him grow over the years. He had a great season last year and had continued to play well this year. I think he’s more of leader this year, which is great for us. We’re fortunate he’s had really great weapons to throw to.”

Floyd has completed 67-of-97 passes for 910 yards this season with 10 touchdowns and an interception. He also has 191 yards rushing on 42 carries with three TDs. Senior Jadon Loving has 16 catches for 326 yards and six scores while junior wideout Jacob Serena has 17 catches for 230 yards and four TDs. Seniors Jaqson Melton and Kennedy Mitchell have both carried the ball 36 times, Melton for 190 yards and a pair of scores and Mitchell for 156 yards with four TDs.

Senior defensive back Riggs Dunn is a three-year starter and a “vocal leader for us,” Floyd said. Gavin Williams, who has drawn attention from Princeton, is also a standout in the secondary. Defensive linemen Ayden Moore and Drew Wallace are playing well, the coach said, along with linebackers Jadon Cantley, Owen Robinson, Clayton Hollis and Parker Floyd, who is the coach’s sophomore son on the squad.

“This team has a really good senior class,” Floyd said. “We’ve got 31, 32 seniors and this group has played together for a long time. I think they are a tight group that believes in what we’re doing here. We’re only going to go as far as this group takes us. I’ve been pleased with their leadership so far.”

Waldrop said the Bucs staff has worked to shake the team out of the doldrums. “We’ve tweaked a few things this week, trying to mix it up a little and change the energy. We believe in the plan and we believe in the guys. We just have to execute on a high level. We’ve done some things on a high level, just not consistently.”